Tower for fire-fighting purposes.



L. LHEUREUX. I

TOWER FOR FIRE FIGHTING PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1913.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

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I h zjgeareax L. LHEUREUX.

TOWER FUR FIRE FIGHTING PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1913.

E 1 136,604. V Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

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L. L'HEUREUX.

TOWER FOR FIRE FIGHTING PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, 1913.

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L. LHEUREUX.

TOWER FOR FIRE FIGHTING PURPOSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1913.

1,136,604, Patented Apr. 20,1915,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

' (7/61/17 Zadgwl 61122711 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L'UDGER LHEUREUX, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA. k

' 'rownn ron rm'n-men'rmo ronrosns.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, Loosen LHnnnnox, a subject of the King of Great Br1ta1n,-re'- siding in the city of Montreal, in the county of Hochelaga, in the Province of Quebec, 1n the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to Towers for Fire-Fighting Purposes, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention is an improved tower for fire fighting purposes and the objects of the invention are to enable the firemen to more quickly and safely reach the upper stories of a building, to carry a hose to a suflicient height to throw water more advantageously into the building, to speedily..ofi'er the means of escape from a high window, and generally to provide a simple and eflicient adjustable tower, easily operable and which will in most cases avoid the necessity of cutting down obstructing overhead telegraph wires in order to raise the tower.

The invention consists primarily of an extensible frame mounted on a suitable truck or vehicle with an elevator adapted to run up and down said frame, fiuidmeans being preferably employed for raising and lowering the extensible frame and for raising and lowering the elevator.

The invention will now be fully described in connection with the accompanying draw- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved tower in its collapsed position and the vehicle on which it is carried. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the tower fully collapsed and a portion of the vehicle in section to showthe operating mechanism of the turn table. Fig. 3 isan enlarged perspective view, of the lower part .of the tower removed from the vehicle and with the upper part broken away at the second section.=-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Application filed February 10, 1918. Serial No. 747,219.

, the valve arrangement in the cylinders.

Fig. 10 is afragmentary perspective view" of the. lower, end of one of the cylinders. ;Fig. 11 is a sectional detail of a desirable addition to the stabilizing cylinders, and Fig. 12 is a frontelevation of a winch used for tightening up the tower when extended. Like numerals of reference are used to denote like parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates system of keeping the airin the tank 2 at a constant pressure can be employed, a preferable form being a pump connected to the engine of the vehicle and adapted to be thrown automatically into action as soon as the pressure lowers in the tank, the engine of course being kept running whilst the vehicle is stopped at the fire.

6 is aturn table provided with a depending pin 7 journaled in the orifice 5, and also having the upstanding spaced brackets 8, and lateral lugs 9.

10 is a bearing plate encirclingfthe pin 7 and resting on the flooring 4 beneath the turn table 6.

11 is a row or rows. of ball bearings disposed between the turn table 6 and the plate 10 to secure free turning of said turn table.

12 is the base of the tower having the depending distanced ears 13 pivotally connected at their lower ends to the upper ends of the brackets 8 by the pin 14. p

15 are corner posts in the form of tubes extending rigidly up from the base 12, one at each corner and braced at their top ends by the braces 16, 16, 16, thus forming the first section of the extensible tower.

17 are the corner posts of the second section of the tower, said posts being in the form of tubes of smaller diameter and telescoping into the first tower-section similar braces 18 being provided at the top 'ends.

19 are the corner posts of the third section of the tower, said posts telescoping into, and

bein braced at the top, in a manner to braces 20.

21' are the corner "posts of the fourth section telescoping into the posts 19 and being braced at their tops in a similar manner to the lower sections by the braces 22.

23 are the corner posts of the fifth section telescoping into the posts 21 and braced at their top ends by the braces 24.

Any desired number of sections may be used to complete the tower, five being here shown by way of example.

25 is an air cylinder centrally upstanding from the base 12, and approximately the length of the first section and braced to the braces 16 by the struts 26. 27 is the cylinder of the second section telescoping into the cylinder 25 andvsimilarly braced at the top by the struts 28. 29 is the cylinder of the third section telescoping'intothe cylin-' der 27 and similarly braced-at the top by struts 30. 31 is the cylinder of the fourth section telescoping into the cylinder 29 and similarly braced by the struts 32.

33 is the cylinder of the top or fifth section telescoping into the cylinder 31 and rigidly secured at its top end to the braces 24 by struts not shown in the drawings.

34 is a series of telescoping cylinders, very similar to those just described for the tower sections, securedto the base 12 and extending upward within the tower sections alongside the hereinbefore described cylinders, being braced to the cylinder 25 by the brace 35.

36 is a platform or elevator suspended from the top section of the series of telescoping cylinders 34 by the ropes 37.

It will be seen from they drawings that in each section, the braces at the top ends of the corner posts extend across three sides only, thereby leaving one side open from top to bottom of the tower in whlch the platform 36 is fitted and guided to run up and down therein as hereinafter described.

38 are guide rods in the form of tubes respectively arranged parallelly adjacent and rigidly secured to the posts 15 to the outer side thereof and extending from top to bottom of the first section, similar rods being provided for the second, third, fourth and fifth sectionsandtelescoping into each other.

39 are rigid brackets extending laterally from each side of the platform 36 respectively and oflset rearwardly at 40.

41 and 42 are a pair of concave rollers journaled in the offset 40 of'each bracket 39 and contacting the guide rods 38 on opposite sides, thus securing easy running of the platform 36 up and down the tower.

In Fig. 7 a little different arrangement of elevator is shown, in which the raising and lowering cylinders 34 are disposed nearer the edge of thebase on the open side of the e first and second sections by thetower and the latfori'n 36 'issup or ted directly 'on top 0 the top section 0 said cyl-. r

inders without the suspending ropes 37. Also in this figure it will be seen that one of the concave guiding rollers, preferably the one 42, is pressed into contact with the frods3 0 by a spring '43 thus better acc0mmodatlng this guiding arrangement of roll- 'ers to the joints between the sections of the rods 38. 44 is an air cylinder having a piston rod45 pivotally secured at its 11 per end lateral lugs 9 of the turntable 6. It will now berseen that when the piston of the cylinder 44 moves outwardly the result will be to swing the tower from the leaning position shown in the drawings, toward the perpendicular. 49 is an air pipe leading.

into':the bottom of the cylinder 44-and provided with a controlling valve 50, said pipe being coupledto theair tank 2 through the medium of a pipe 51, the latter being flexii 'ble to accommodate the various movements of the tower base. 52 is'an air pipe leadthe. cylinder 25 and provided with a controlling valve 53, saidpipe being also coupled to the air tank 2 through the medium of. aflexible pipe 54. 55 is an air supply pipe le'adingthrough the base 12 into the bottom of the lower cylinderof the series 34 and-provided with a controlling valve 56, said pipe being also coupled to the air tank 2 through the medium of a flexible pipe 57. 58 is a rod extending up, from the valve 56 through the base. 1211p to the platform 36, said rodbeing of a telescopic nature (angular in section) toaccommodate the raisin and lowering of the platform and provid with a handle' 59 within-reach of the person on the platform. 60 is a gear wheel rigidly mounted at the lower end of the pin 7 of the turntable. 61 is an air cylinder preferably secured to the underside ofthe carflooring 4 and-having a piston therein from which extends the piston rod 62, guided at its outer end in the eye" 63 and intermediatelyfashioned into a rack 64' meshing with the gear 60. 65 is an air supply pipe leading from the tank 2 and having branches 66 and 67 leading-respectively into the forward and- 56 are of the three way kind, that is to say,

in one position permitting air to enter the cylinder, in another position cuttin of both cylinder and supply, and in anot erposition permittmg air to exhaust from the cylinder, the valves 68 and 69 however, being arranged so that while ainislentering one side of the se an, the/other sidewilt' beexh'austin -iair"through the valve to at mos'pherea hus it will be seen thatby supplying airhto the: cylinder filgthe turni table may.. beirotated through,- thetmedium v of the rack- 64 and gear; 60, in either direck tionc according to 1 which way, the valve. I handle 70 is-turned 1;,

-71 are a pair ofguy ropes secured o the top section of the tower, preferably to the upper end of the cylinder 33 and extending downwardly on either "side the tower through'eyes 72 at the upper end of some of? the sections and thence to a winch 73 mounted on theupper side ofthe base 12 Y and having a painofreels 741and 75. on

which the ropes 71Qare adapted tobegwound,

aapawl andratchet mechanism 76 being provided to prevent unwinding except when the pawl i is manually knocked out ,of, en-

gagement with the ratchet; I

In Fig. 8 is shown a means for tilting the platform or elevator to bring it in a .more Or lesshorizontal'position when the tower is leaning. In this arrangement the platform has a frame77 carrying thegui'ding brackets andthe suspension ro es, said frame having an interiorledge78.- 9 is the platform proper hinged at the forward edge correspondingly shaped to the orifice85iand to the frame 7 8 by'the hinges 80. 81 is a screw box secured to the platform 7 9' and in which threads the screw 82 provided with a hand wheel 83 at the top and swivelly con- 1 nected at the bottom end to the frame '77. It will thus be seen that by turning the hand wheel 83 the platform 79 will be raised or lowered at the rear edge asrequired,and I if the tower isleaning rearwardly the angle of the. platform may be correspondingly changed to a level position for the better-- accommodation of the person or persons standing on the platform.

- In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown a detaili-of'a desirable arrangement for regulating 'theproper raising of the telescoping cylinders,

The lower end of each cylinder except'the bottom one is stoppedby a head 84 havinga.

central. orifice 85 therethrough fashioned. into a valve seat, said head also havingza= small lateral flange 86 with verticalgrooves 87 at intervals therearound. 8 8'is a-llvalve carried by the radial arms :89, whoseup wardly oflset ends 90 T5 have'ga sliding move"- ment in the grooves 87 limited in a downward direction by the T shaped ends 91",

and in an upward direction by the seating of V the valve. 92 is the gland at the upper end of each of the telescoping cylinders except the top one. Assuming there is no'air in the cylinders and it is desired toraise -them,-the supply valve isoperated and as soonas air enters into the lower cylinder, the valve 88 in the second cylinder is forced to its seat thereby cutting off the entrance of air ,to

m their. inner? positions -witha handle107 atone end.

inder .rea( :lies its "extreme abut'-the .underside of the gland v92, fthus ing vii 'fto enter the second cyljnden faften at oth lyl ild 'w ieha 1 ond fai -J;- I whenthe; I shaped ends? of .tlieflr'a al; arms 7o forc ng-the valve 88 off 111$ seat and; allows which preciselythe same action occurs until the cylinders are allfully. out. a

93 are fourstabilizing cylinders or jacks. arranged at separated :po'mts1- benath the.

car flooring as shown the drawings and supplied with, air from the tank 2' through pipes 94, 95, 96 and .97, 4a controlling-valve 98 being provided foreachcylinder. Each 100}- atone side thereof,'(see 11) surroundedby a box 101.

102-is a leg sliding verticallyv through the box 101 adjacent to the rack 100 and having I a corresponding toothed rack 103 adapted to engage the rack 100 at certain times.

a 104 isa-double incline at'the backofthe;

- the rack 100.

In the use of this invention, the vehicle 1 driven totheplace of the fire and backed up as close-as'possible to the building. The

'' car is now; lifted "slightly and leveled, by vthe use of "the: stabilizing cylinders so that it is perfectlypsecure from slipping or bouncing on- {its sp 'ngs and in ordervto lockthe leveledipositi rof; the car, the legs 102 are dropped-:by mplytu-ming the handles 107, then whenfthetilower endsof saidlegs contact the-j ground said handles are turned again to force, theflrack 103 into engagement 'w1'th' the rack-: 100 and so lock the leg in its lowered position and-nullifying theefi'ectof any 'rleak in the cylinders 93. The'valve'50 is now turned to let in a supply of air-to the cylinderfl, whichhas'the eflect of'forcing out its plunger and rod 45, which in turn forces the tower uptothe' desired angle, which may for may-not be perpendicularl. The valve 53 is now turned to let in asa ply of 1 air to .the' tower raising cylinders;

This has' theefiect of extendingthe towerby'forcing out the upper cylinders which carry therewith jthe corner posts 15, thatis tosay, all above those in the first sect on, When the tower is raised to the desired 7 .so of the cylinders 93 'has'arplunger 99 extend mg downwardlythroughits lower end andv a vertically arranged-ratchet toothed rack On turning have been paid 'from the winch by the knocking out of the ratchet are now 'tightened'by turning the winch handle and winding the ropes onto :the reels 74 and 75, the ratchet being placed in position again to prevent unwinding. We now have the full pressure'of the air tank forcin the cylinders 25,97, 29, 31 and 33 outward y against the restraining pressure of the guy ropes 77, therefore the tower becomes to a l intents and purposes a rigid structure incapable of wabbling, and it may here be mentioned that a somewhat similar tightening device, could also be used in connection with the cylinder 4-l,though it would hardly be necessary, because the tower will not likely be moved over beyond the perpendicular on 'the far side of the cylinder 44. The turn table is now operated through a movement of the valve handle 70 as hereinbefore explained in the desired direction, and now everything is ready for the use of the elevator. One ,0 the firemen now takes his place on the platform 36 and grasps the handle 59 turning it in the desired direction to allow air to enter from the tank-2 through the pipes 57 and 55 into the series of elevator cylinders 34. The cylinders become at onceextended or blown outwardly and carry up the platform 36, which may be stopped at any desired height by simply turning the handle a ain and shutting off the air supply, say or example, that the elevator is stopped in front of a high window where a person isdesired to escape, that person simply steps on the platform along with-the fireman, and both descend on the platformby simply turning the handle 59 to allow the air to escape from the cylinders 34. In orderto assist in demounting from the platform 36, a ladder 108 may be? provided, having hooked upper ends 109 fittingcorresp'onding holes in the platform 36, or the said-ladder may be supported from the tubes of the lower tower section. Itwill now be seen that the tower can be raised to any angle, rotated in any direction, and extended to any height desired, in a very short time, while the elevator can be very speedily run up and down for life saving purposes, the whole thing being exceedingly simple to operate.

.The winch '73 may be driven by power also from thetank 2 if desired. It will be obvious that many of the details of this'improved tower may be changed without departing from the lnvention as claimed inthe' following claims for novelty.

WhatI claim as myinvention'is:

1. In a tower forfire fighting purposes,

van extensible frame formed of telescoping form.

: gi aegeoe said" frame and extensible "therewith" and forming tracks, an'elevatoren'ga g said tracks and adapted to run up' and (Id m said height the'guy ropes 77 which previouslysections,-tlescopi1ig rods iigiiilyj 'carried' by frame, runners on said elevator embracing said tracks, means for'ralsmg and lowering said frame and tracks and separate means for raising and lowering said elevator:-

2. In a tower for fire fighting purposes, an extensible frame having extensible tracks at one side thereof, said-frame being formed of a number of telescoping sections, each having a pair of tracks rigid therewith and adapted to telescope with the tracks of the adjacent section, a telescopic fluid cylinderparallelly' arrangedwithin said frame sec;

tions-for extending purposes, an elevator adapted to run up; and down said tracks,

runners .on said elevator embracing said tracks to prevent lateral movementvof the elevator in relation to the extensible frame, a second telescopic cylinder arranged be tween said tracks for raisingand lowering the elevator and means for supplying fluid to .said cylinders.

3. In a tower for fire fightingpurposes, a telescoping air cylinder suitably supported, an extensible frame comprising a plurality of sections each of which comprises four corner posts suitably braced together and to one of" the cylinder sections centrally dis-'- posed therebetween, said sections-having one open side and'the posts and cylindersi of each consecutive section'telescopinginto' i the posts and cylinder of the sectionthere-f below, a pair of tracks formed of'teles'copingi sections carried one by each of "the corner:

posts at the open side and whose sections 4. In a tower for fire fighting purposes, a

vehicle, an extensible tower flexibly secured at its lower end to said vehicle, a platform adapted to travel up anddown said tower, means for guiding said platform in its movement up and down the tower, means for tilting the floor ofsaid platform, means for extending and collapsing said tower and 4 115 means for raising and lowering said plat- Signed at the city of Montreal, Canada, this 22nd day of January 1913. LUDGER LHEUREUX. Witnesses:

H. DAVIS, I Cms. IsAAcs'. 

